MRI-RAPID: Acquisition of Spectroscopic Instrumentation for Oil Spill Research

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The PI's request MRI RAPID funding to acquire spectroscopic instrumentation for work on the Gulf oil spill. This instrumentation will augment their on-going oil spill research activities and graduate education in marine and environmental sciences. The PI's have RAPID funding from the Chemical Oceanography program to study the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (April 2010) on the distribution of key trace metals in the impacted region of the Gulf of Mexico. Of particular interest are the transition metals V and Ni which have a natural geochemical association with petroleum.The requested instrumentation includes two cavity ring down spectrometers (CRDS), one for determination of methane and the other for determination of the oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of water. The CRDS methane analyzer is needed because a significant fraction of material discharged from the Macondo well is methane. The CRDS water isotope analyzer will allow the PI's to utilize oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of water as a coastal water mass tracer. Both CRDS instruments are robust enough to be used in the field. Using them in the field will allow the PI's to adjust their sampling strategies based on the analytical information obtained and to better understand water circulation/mixing and thus oil transport and transformation in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the PI's request a UV/visible spectrophotometer. The spectrophotometer is a basic tool needed for determining the optical properties of natural organic matter and oil-contaminated waters to quantify the fate, transport and transformation of oil components.Broader ImpactsThis research has the potential to increase our understanding of the direct and indirect geochemical consequences of a major oil spill on marine ecosystems throughout the world. Student participation is a component of this work and thus graduate education will be enhanced. It will also enhance collaborative research opportunities in the Gulf Coast region.